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Penn State football coach James Franklin has long had a philosophy of not looking past any game, no matter the opponent.
He stresses treating each game the same and going 1-0 every week.
But at least one of the third-ranked Nittany Lions admitted Tuesday that their game against No. 4 Ohio State Saturday at noon (TV-FOX) at Beaver Stadium carries more weight than others.
“It’s been something I can detect every week, but this week is a little bit more enhanced,” linebacker Kobe King said. “The volume is a little bit more turned up. Everybody’s feeling it. There’s a little bit more of a sense of urgency. It’s there.”
Penn State (4-0, 7-0) can take a huge step toward the Big Ten championship game and a berth in the 12-team College Football Playoff if it can snap a seven-game losing streak against the Buckeyes (3-1, 6-1).
The Lions haven’t won in the series since a stunning 24-21 victory at home in 2016 on their way to winning the Big Ten title.
If they beat Ohio State and win their remaining four games against Washington, Purdue, Minnesota and Maryland, they would most likely clinch a berth in the Dec. 7 conference championship game in Indianapolis. A loss Saturday would make it harder for them to get there.
At the same time, the Buckeyes would see their Big Ten title chances all but vanish if they lose. They would have losses to Oregon and Penn State and would need those teams to lose twice because of tiebreakers. Then there’s unbeaten Indiana, which remains in the picture and which meets Ohio State in late November.
“It’s an unbelievable opportunity,” Buckeyes coach Ryan Day said of playing the Lions. “A chance to go to Indianapolis is on the line. Our guys are excited about playing in this game. The defense has a lot of confidence coming off last week (a 21-17 win over Nebraska).
“If we can get…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/penn-state-notes-kobe-king-034700134.html
Author : Reading Eagle, Pa.
Publish date : 2024-10-30 03:47:00
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